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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today and, with increasing technology, it is increasingly common. Victims of identity theft spend hours, as well as a great deal of money, tries to recover their identity. Most financial institutions, including the Bank and credit card holders, you will receive for all charges, that is the result of identity theft, but they will not offer other assistance. Most victims of identity theft have to spend a vacation from work, making phone calls and send different documents preparation, to repair your credit report from them. This adds a recovery expenses against identity fraud and is usually the exclusive responsibility of the victim phishing.
Insurance identity theft is one of the ways to protect yourself against identity theft 's unexpected expenses. Insurance services identity theft become popular more crimes identity theft will continue to grow. This insurance is very reasonable as a policy can be found independently or add insurance identity theft your normal home insurance policy. Identity fraud insurance and reimburse the victim identity theft for all your credit repair expense not covered by the institutions holding the accounts. With the insurance policy identity theft, you can restore the ?????? take a vacation from work wages to repair your credit. You can also recover the costs of sending documents to a happy, long distance charges associated with the crime, and you want a professional fee to pay money or getting a document editor Dean.
Find an insurance policy identity theft
There are millions of victims identity theft new each year, it becomes more and more difficult for them to fix their credit and their identities. Many victims are not even aware that their identity was stolen during the months after they discover the crime, they don't know how it happened. Most credit card issuers have policies to protect their customers against these crimes. Review of conditions and the credit institution's fraud and asked about a possible insurance services identity theft can offer. There is also a large number of credit monitoring services available. Services to view your credit card purchase activity, throw everything was hshdn.
If you feel the ???????? can be the result of identity theft credit card, you can cancel your account at the same time, and investigate the causes, avoiding the possibility of further damage to your credit. You should be familiar with the procedures of each of your bank accounts and credit card in case of lost or stolen card. If you become a victim of phishing, it is important to know how and when the crime occurred. Maintaining your credit activity active role is the best way to stay up to date and makes it easier to distinguish identity theft early if this happens to you. Insurance identity theft available to give you peace of mind in this event. While insurance scams may not restore your identity or to repair your credit card, you know with this protection your expenses will be covered and gives you one less thing to worry about while already mounted. There are a few things you should consider when you search for the best insurance coverage of identity theft your self.
Things to consider before purchasing insurance identity theft
· Search for company chraoia which offers insurance identity theft.
· Research a business that you are not sure before a final decision. Better Business Bureau or the online business review sites may provide more information.
· Check for membership may offer credit recovery service as part of a suite of their insurance fraud. These services to work with you to recover and repair your credit card quickly.
· Review the constraints and limitations of the policy before signing. Some insurance identity theft does not cover certain costs, such as legal fees, and a few limits on expenses, such as the earnings lost. In addition, check and age restrictions deductible.
Company provides the owners or vashochrim your insurance may offer identity theft coverage insurance also. Some auto insurance providers also may offer the service. Integration policies you can save money on a separate policy.
Make sure you have entered all of the features of any insurance policy of identity theft consider and take the time to compare all of the company before making a decision.
Protect yourself against identity theft
The biggest concern for the victims of identity theft this ???? is destroyed their credit history, the damage is often irreversible. Insurance identity theft do not prevent identity theft, but it gives you the chance to better to repair the damage made. Your prevention techniques, awareness, involvement identity theft are actually the best insurance of identity fraud can be found. Remember to maintain the privacy of your personal information. Be careful to give credit card numbers or bank account to which never give anyone your pin. If you are using a debit card to make purchases, and prevent skimming devices to alert yourself shoulder surfers who you might see when you enter your PIN. Use a shredder to destroy all the paperwork and monitor sensitive banking activity for suspicious and all charges to your credit card.
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The Threat Is Real
In 2004, 9.3 million Americans - or one in every 23 adults - were victims of identity theft. The dollar cost impact is gargantuan. Identity theft crimes tallied $52.6 billion in costs in 2004. This amounts to almost $200 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S. In five years, federal officials say people will be more likely to be a victim of this crime than not.
Identity theft wreaks significant damage on its victims. Out of pocket expenses related to identity theft have risen to $1,495, up from $808 in 2002, plus $16,000 in average lost wages. The average recovery time has spiked to 607 hours, up from 175 hours in 2002. While personal liability is low in the majority of cases, 16 percent of victims were forced to pay an average of $6,440 to cover thieves' purchases. And victims remain vulnerable for the rest of their lives. Identity thieves are likely to use stolen data months or years later.
Online shoppers and banking customers are reducing their cyber activity because of privacy fears. A June survey found 40% of shoppers and 28% of online banking users are cutting back, Gartner said e-commerce revenue growth will slow by 1-3% by 2007 unless customer fears are alleviated. Nearly 40% of the banks participating in the American Banking Association's 2002 survey on fraud ranked identity theft as the No. 1 threat to the banking industry. Over 1 million consumers have been tricked into divulging their personal information to email fraud alone, with financial losses totaling nearly $1 billion. Al-Qaida cells even use identity theft to raise money. Imam Samudra, mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 200 people, wrote a jailhouse manifesto about funding terrorism through identity theft and computer fraud.
Despite years of media coverage and frequent dire warnings by consumer protection groups, identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States. Identity theft has been the #1 complaint to the FTC for the last 3 years in a row - by far. Last year, identity theft represented 43% of all the complaints placed with the FTC. There have been at least 104 serious "data incidents" in the US so far in 2005, compromising the records of more than 56.2 million individuals. And a worldwide criminal identity marketplace has now matured. Credit card numbers, SSNs, and other personal data are commonly traded and sold in huge numbers.
Employers Have A Major Stake
The #1 underlying source of identity fraud is theft of employer records. 51% of all identity thefts occur in the workplace; usually perpetrated by people hired to perform low-level tasks, such as data entry. About 90% of business record thefts involve payroll or employment records; only about 10% are customer lists. Most businesses think of client records as the most valuable, but payroll records are more often what's stolen, with increasing frequency.
On June 1, 2005, a new provision of the Fair Access to Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) goes into effect. It says that any employer whose action or inaction results in the loss of employee information can be fined by federal and state government, and sued in civil court. An employee is entitled to recover actual damages sustained if their identity is stolen due to your inaction, or statutory damages up to $1,000 per employee. Employees may also bring class-action suits against employers for actual and punitive damages. In addition, federal fines of up to $2500 per employee, and state fines of up to $1000 per employee may also be levied.
A recent case in Michigan highlights another source of corporate liability. In the 2005 case of Audrey Bell et al vs. AFSME AFL-CIO Local 1023, the Michigan Appeals Court affirmed a jury award of $275,000 to AFSME members who had sued the union for failing to safeguard its members' SSNs. It recognized a "special relationship" between the union and its employees, including a duty to protect them from identity theft by providing safeguards to ensure the security of their "most essential confidential identifying information, information which could be easily used to appropriate a person's identity.
The Bell case has national implications for employers. Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, and other states have statutes that require an employer to restrict the use and disclosure of SSNs. While not as broad as Michigan's, they support the view that a "special relationship" exists between an employer and an employee whose data is stolen from the employer to commit identity theft. Even in jurisdictions with no statutes restricting employers' use or disclosure of empoyee SSNs, the tide of legislation on identity theft may be sufficient to support a finding of the necessary "special relationship". The Wall Street Journal recently predicted that there will be a flood of lawsuits by both consumers and businesses because of identity theft issues.
Employers also suffer other significant costs when their employees experience identity theft. Conservative calculations based on recent reports indicate that an employer with 1000 employees, who make an average of $40,000 salary per year, can expect to incur costs of well over $600,000 per year. Identity theft also threatens enterprise security, enabling corporate espionage and fraud, and theft of hard assets and intellectual property. Large scale or frequent identity thefts also results in significant negative publicity, impacting sales, partnerships, and employee recruiting and retention.
Protection As An Employee Benefit
The only solution that provides an affirmative defense against potential fines, fees, and lawsuits is to offer some sort of Identity Theft protection as an employee benefit. An employer can choose whether or not to pay for this benefit. The key is to make the protection available, and have a mandatory employee meeting on Identity Theft and the protection you are making available, similar to what you probably do for health insurance. They may either elect or decline to have identity theft coverage.
If the employee has coverage, but becomes a victim, the employer gains: the employee will spend less time and money, and experience less frustration in restoring their identity. If the employee declines the coverage, and later claims their identity was stolen as a result of you or your company's actions, the employer has signed proof that they attended the presentation and declined the coverage.
Identity theft protection employee benefits are a trend because employers are looking for ways to lower their costs. It's unique, it's hot in the marketplace, and it's inexpensive. A growing number of companies are offering identity theft coverage as an employee benefit, in part to reduce lost time when a worker becomes a victim. Greg Roderick, CEO of Frontier Management, says that his employees "feel like the company's valuing them more, and it's very personal." Matt Oros, CEO of Benelogic, adds "I think it's a tremendous value to protect someone's name. It is like a soft pillow at night that you can lay your head on and know that you're going to have an advocate." And Donald Harris, head of IHRIM's Special Interest Group on Privacy & Security points out: "Privacy is like diversity in this regard: Done the right way, each involves respecting and empowering individuals, and reaping the business benefits that this can bring, rather than acting primarily to avoid risks and legal problems."
Do Your Homework
Caution - there is a significant difference between the programs that are available. Many new programs are now appearing on the market, to take advantage of the fear and confusion around identity theft. Many of them are very overpriced, and many do not provide the kind of protection necessary to really reduce risk, or to cover losses and speed recovery in the event of an identity theft incident.
Peter has been a leader in HRIT and “workforce effectiveness” for almost two decades. Prior to his current role as CEO of the ID Theft Defense Center, he was Director of consulting practices at KPMG Consulting and Siebel Systems, the co-founder and CTO of Cipient Networks, and a long-term strategic advisor to major HR outsourcers, enterprise application vendors, and other Fortune 500 firms. He also managed HRIS teams at Disney and FHP, and was Manager in KPMG’s Peoplesoft practice. Peter is an acknowledged expert on enterprise systems, identity theft, and workforce services, and brings this unique combination of expertise to this critical and timely topic.
The Identity Theft Defense Center provides in-depth corporate training and program development services, as well as a comprehensive and low-cost identity theft benefit program. For more information, visit our website at [http://www.myidcenter.com], call us at (866) 99-THEFT, or email us at sales@myidcenter.com
What is the identity theft?
identity theft is when someone without your permission fraudulently receives and uses sensitive information.
Do identity theft is a criminal offense?
identity theft is a serious criminal offense. When someone submits a identity theft with your name and credit record that could take months, even years clearing the confusion. Cleaning up of identity theft may prove invaluable. Chances are while repairing the mess due to identity theft, you might lose your job or lose out with job options, your loans may be turned in a backpack, and car and even education loans may be rejected. You may also was arrested for crimes committed by someone else using your identity.
What exactly is stolen identity theft?
identity theft thieves obtain fraudulently the name, address, phone numbers, Bank and credit card account numbers, driver's license and social security number (SSN national).
How is committed identity theft?
People commit to identity theft resource, obtain information from various sources. A very simple one is by stealing purses, wallets and credit card recognition execution or steal personal information directly to your House. identity theft may be performed by the people to the employer, landlord or anyone else a legal right to your personal information. identity theft perpetrators steal records mmasikim, or bribe an employee who has access to records or even hacking into computers in your organization.
Another method of identity theft is by going through garbage personal or business photographs. This is known as "dumpster diving". identity theft may be performed by a person exploits trust of credit report information and access to the employer.
Personal information can be obtained by passing a numeric credit cards, debit by when skimming through a special information storage device that processes these cards. identity theft made by stealing your mail contains your Bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information. Sliding your mail to another address by filling out the "transform" address is another way of committing identity theft. You can obtain your personal information by someone posing as a business person to falsely used or Government official, false identities or paper plates.
How they use the information you identity theft?
After you identity theft attacks use credit, debit numbers to make major purchases such as computers, televisions, etc. that you can sell later. People commit identity theft can counterfeit checks and debit cards to your bank account or open a bank account in your name and write bad checks. Thieves filing for bankruptcy under your name to jump to pay debts attracted to them and they also use the information to avoid eviction.
identity theft be used to open a new credit account using any personal information such as name, social security number, date, bills and free all non fee bills is reflected then your credit report. identity theft can be used to automatically receive a loan on your behalf, set the phone to a wireless service on your behalf. Perpetrators of identity theft can change the mailing address on your credit card account and load the saved to your account. You will not be aware of for sometime as these bills will go to the new address. Another serious consequence of identity theft is when your name is given by the police and thieves, releasing when they don't show up in court, a court order the detention will be issued in your name. This leads you to a serious trouble.
How do you identify yourself prisoner of identity theft?
You must always keep up with all your financial and payment, and careful with your personal information. You can find identity theft by examining the unexplained charges withdrawals from your account. You can tell a identity theft if you receive calls from debt collectors or companies requesting payments on goods or services purchased by you. Say you are a victim of identity theft while getting credit cards will not apply for a credit application is rejected even if for no reason. All mail indicating the change of address or mail address does not accept any right will display the reason identity theft.
To read more CreditRunner.com controller
The Price of Admission to the Digital Age
Identity theft is everywhere. It's the crime of the millennium; it's the scourge of the digital age. If it hasn't happened to you, it's happened to someone you know. Using Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data, Javelin Research estimates that about 9 million identity thefts occurred last year, which means that about 1 in 22 American adults was victimized in just one year. So far - knock wood - I've personally been spared, but in the course of running an enterprise identity theft solutions company, I've run across some amazing stories, including from close friends that I had not previously known were victims. One friend had her credit card repeatedly used to pay for tens of laptops, thousands of dollars of groceries, and rent on several apartments - in New York City, just prior to the 9/11 attacks. The FBI finally got involved, and discovered an insider at the credit card firm, and links to organizations suspected of supporting terrorists.
So what is this big scary threat, is it for real, and is there anything one can do other than install anti-virus software, check credit card statements, put your social security card in a safe deposit box, and cross one's fingers? And perhaps even more important for the
corporate audience - what's the threat to corporations (oh, yes, there's a major threat) and what can be done to keep the company and its employees safe?
First, the basics. Identity theft is - as the name implies - any use of another person's identity to commit fraud. The obvious example is using a stolen credit card to purchase items, but it also includes such activities as hacking corporate networks to steal enterprise information, being employed using a fraudulent SSN, paying for medical care using another person's insurance coverage, taking out loans and lines of equity on assets owned by someone else, using someone else's ID when getting arrested (so that explains my impressive rap sheet!) and much more. In the late 90s and early 2000s, identity theft numbers skyrocketed, but they have plateaued in the last 3 years at around 9-10 million victims per year - still an enormous problem: the most common consumer crime in America. And the cost to businesses continues to increase, as thieves become increasingly sophisticated - business losses from identity fraud in 2005 alone were a staggering $60 billion dollars. Individual victims lost over $1500 each, on average, in out of pocket costs, and required tens or even hundreds of hours per victim to recover. In about 16% of cases, losses were over $6000 and in many cases, the victims are unable to ever fully recover, with ruined credit, large sums owed, and recurring problems with even the simplest of daily activities.
The underlying cause of the identity theft crime wave is the very nature of our digital economy, making it an extremely difficult problem to solve. Observe yourself as you go through the day, and see how many times your identity is required to facilitate some everyday activity. Turn on the TV - the cable channels you receive are billed monthly to your account, which is stored in the cable company's database. Check your home page - your Google or Yahoo or AOL account has a password that you probably use for other accounts as well, maybe your financial accounts or your secure corporate login. Check your stocks - and realize that anyone with that account info could siphon off your money in seconds. Get into the car - you've got your drivers license, car registration, and insurance, all linked to a drivers license number which is a surrogate national ID, and could be used to impersonate you for almost any transaction. Stop for coffee, or to pick up some groceries, and use one of your many credit cards, or a debit card linked to one of your several bank accounts - if any of those are compromised, you could be cleaned out in a hurry.
And in the office - a veritable playground of databases with your most sensitive data! The HR database, the applicant tracking system, the Payroll system, the Benefits enrollment system, and various corporate data warehouses - each one stores your SSN and many other sensitive pieces of identifying data. Also the facilities system, the security system, the bonus and commission and merit increase and performance management systems, your network login and email accounts, and all of your job-specific system accounts. Not to mention all of the various one-time and periodic reports and database extracts that are done all day long, every day, by Compensation, by Finance, by audit firms, by IT and many others. And what about all the backups and replicated databases, and all the outsourced systems, all the various Pension and 401(k) and other retirement account systems? The little easily forgotten systems that track mentor assignments and birthdays and vacation accruals. The online paycheck image systems? The corporate travel provider's systems? And let's not forget how every outsourced system multiplies the risk - each one has backups and copies and extracts and audits; each one is accessible by numerous internal users as well as their own service providers. How many databases and laptops and paper reports throughout this web of providers and systems have your data, and how many thousands of people have access to it at any moment? The list rapidly goes from surprising to daunting to frightening, the longer one follows the trail of data.
It's a brave new digital world, where every step requires instant authentication of your identity - not based on your pretty face and a lifelong personal relationship, but on a few digits stored somewhere. Much more efficient, right? So your various digital IDs - your drivers license number, your SSN, your userids and passwords, your card numbers - have to be stored everywhere, and as such, are accessible by all kinds of people. This explains the huge and growing phenomenon of corporate data breaches. Amazingly, over 90 million identities have been lost or stolen in these breaches in just the last 18 months, and the pace is actually accelerating. It's simple arithmetic combined with a financial incentive - a growing volume of identity data, accessible by many people, that has significant value.
And once any of these digital IDs are compromised, they can be used to impersonate you in any or all of these same thousands of systems, and to steal your other digital IDs as well, to commit further fraud. This is the scale of the problem. Much worse than a cutesy stolen Citibank credit card - identity theft can easily disrupt everything you do, and require a massive effort to identify and plug every potential hole. Once your identity is stolen, your life can become an eternal whack-a-mole - fix one exposure, and another pops up, across the enormous breadth of all the accounts and systems that use your identity for any purpose at all. And make no mistake - once compromised, your identity can be sold again and again, across a vast shadowy international ID data marketplace, outside the reach of US law enforcement, and extremely agile in adapting to any attempts to shut it down.
A Disaster Waiting to Happen?
Over the last two years, three major legal changes have occurred that substantially increased the cost of corporate data theft. First, new provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) went into effect that imposed significant penalties on any employer whose failure to protect employee information - either by action or inaction - resulted in the loss of employee identity data. Employers may be civilly liable up to $1000 per employee, and additional federal fines may be imposed up to the same level. Various states have enacted laws imposing even higher penalties. Second, several widely publicized court cases held that employers and other organizations that maintain databases containing employee information have a special duty to provide safeguards over data that could be used to commit identity fraud. And the courts have awarded punitive damages for stolen data, over and above the actual damages and statutory fines. Third, several states, beginning with California and spreading rapidly from there, have passed laws requiring companies to notify affected consumers if they lose data that could be used for identity theft, no matter whether the data was lost or stolen, or whether the company bears any legal liability. This has resulted in vastly increased awareness of breaches of corporate data, including some massive incidents such as the infamous ChoicePoint breach in early 2005, and the even larger loss of a laptop containing over 26 million veteran's IDs a couple of months ago.
At the same time, the problem of employee data security is getting exponentially harder. The ongoing proliferation of outsourced workforce services - from background checks, recruiting, testing, payroll, and various benefit programs, up to full HR Outsourcing - makes it ever harder to track, let alone manage all of the potential exposures. Same thing for IT Outsourcing - how do you control systems and data that you don't manage? How do you know where your data is, who has access, but shouldn't, and what criminal and legal system governs any exposures occurring outside the country? The ongoing trend toward more remote offices and virtual networks also makes it much harder to control the flow of data, or to standardize system configurations - how do you stop someone who logs in from home from burning a CD full of data extracted from the HR system or data warehouse, or copying it to a USB drive, or transferring it over an infrared port to another local computer? And recent legislative minefields, from HIPAA to Sarbanes Oxley, not to mention European and Canadian data privacy regulations, and the patchwork of fast-evolving US federal and state data privacy legislation, have ratcheted up the complexity
of control, perhaps past the point of reasonability. Who among us can say that they understand all of it, let alone fully comply?
The result: a perfect storm - more identity data losses and thefts, much greater difficulty at managing and plugging the holes, much greater visibility to missteps, and much greater liability, all boiling in the cauldron of a litigious society, where loyalty to one's employer is a bygone concept, and all too many employees look at their employer as a set of deep pockets to be picked whenever possible.
And it's all about "people data" - the simple two-word phrase right at the heart of the mission of Human Resources and IT. The enterprise has a problem - its people data is suddenly high value, under attack, and at escalating risk - and they're looking at you, kid.
The good news is that at least it's a well-known problem. Indeed, although I hope I've done a good job of scaring you into recognizing that identity theft is not all hype - that it's a genuine, long-term, big-deal problem - the reality has a hard time keeping up with the hype. Identity theft is big news, and lots of folks, from solution vendors to media infotainment hucksters of every stripe have been trumpeting the alarm for years now. Everyone from the boardroom on down is aware in a general way of all the big data thefts, and the problems with computer security, and the hazards of dumpster divers and so on. Even the Citibank ads have done their part to raise awareness. So you have permission to propose a reasonable way to address the problem - a serious, programmatic approach that will easily pay for itself in reduced corporate liability, as well as avoidance of bad publicity, employee dissatisfaction, and lost productivity.
The Journey of a Thousand Miles
In general, what I recommend is simply that you do, indeed, approach identity theft prevention and management as a program - a permanent initiative that is structured and managed just like any other serious corporate program. That means an iterative activity cycle, an accountable manager, and real executive visibility and sponsorship. That means going through cycles of baselining, identification of key pain points and priorities, visioning a next generation state and scope, planning and designing the modules of work, executing, measuring, assessing, tuning - and then repeating. Not rocket science. The most important step is to recognize and train a focus on the problem - put a name and a magnifying glass to it. Do as thorough a baseline review as you can, examine the company from the perspective of this substantial risk, engage your executive leadership, and manage an ongoing improvement program. After a couple of cycles, you'll be surprised how much better a handle you have on it.
Within the scope of your identity theft program, you will want to target the following primary objectives. We'll examine each one briefly, and outline the critical areas to address and some key success factors.
1) Prevent actual identity thefts to the extent possible
2) Minimize your corporate liability in advance for any identity thefts (not the same thing as #1 at all)
3) Respond effectively to any incidents, to minimize both employee damage and corporate liability
From an enterprise perspective, you can't achieve identity theft prevention without addressing processes, systems, people, and policy, in that order.
o First, follow the processes and their data flows. Where does personal identity data go, and why? Eliminate it wherever possible. (Why does SSN have to be in the birthday tracking system? Or even in the HR system? One can tightly limit what systems retain this kind of data, while still preserving required audit and regulatory reporting capability for those few who perform this specific function). And by the way, assigning or hiring someone to try to "social engineer" (trick) their way into your systems, and also asking for employees to help identify all the little "under the covers" quick-and-dirty exposure points in your processes and systems can be very effective ways to get a lot of scary information quickly.
o For those systems that do retain this data, implement access controls and usage restrictions to the extent possible. Remember, you are not tightening down data that drives business functions; you are merely limiting the access to and ability to extract your employee's personal, private information. The only ones who should have access to this are the employee themselves and those with specific regulatory job functions. Treat this data as you would treat your own personal and private assets - your family heirlooms. Strictly limit access. And remember - it's not only those who are supposed to have access that are the problem, it's also those who are hacking - who have stolen one employee's ID in order to steal more. So part of your mission is to make sure that your network and system passwords and access controls are really robust. Multiple, redundant strategies are usually required - strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, access audits, employee training, and employee security agreements, for example.
o Train your people - simply and bluntly - that this data is personal, and not to be copied or used anywhere except where necessary. It's not the theft of laptops that's the big issue; it's that the laptops inappropriately contain employee's personal data. Give your people - including any contractors and outsourced providers that serve you - the guidance not to place this data at risk, and where necessary, the tools to use it safely: standardized computer system monitoring, encryption, strong password management on systems that contain this data, etc.
o Develop policies for handling employee's private data safely and securely, and that hold your employees and your service providers accountable and liable if they do not. Clearly, simply, and forcefully communicate this policy and then reinforce it with messages and examples from senior executives. Make this especially clear to every one of your external service providers, and require them to have policies and procedures that duplicate your own safeguards, and to be liable for any failures. This may seem a daunting task, but you will find that you are not alone - these service providers are hearing this from many customers, and will work with you to establish a timetable to get there. If they don't get it, maybe that's a good signal to start looking for alternatives.
Minimizing corporate liability is all about having "reasonable safeguards" in place. What does that mean in practice? - no one knows. But you'd better be able to pass the reasonability "smell test". Just like obscentity, judges will know "reasonable safeguards" when they see them - or don't. You can't prevent everything and you're not required to, but if you have no passwords on your systems and no physical access control over your employee files, you're going to get nailed when there's a theft. So you need to do precisely the kind of review and controls that I've outlined above, and you also need to do it in a well documented, measured, and publicized way. In short, you need to do the right thing, and you need to very publicly show that you're doing it. It's called CYA. That's the way legal liability works, kids. And in this case, there's very good reason for this rigor. It ensures the kind of comprehensive and thorough results that you want, and it will assist you greatly as you iterate the cycles of improvement.
This is why you want to make the effort to establish a formal program, and benchmark what some other companies do, and define a comprehensive plan and metrics after you complete your baselining and scoping steps, and report results to your executives, and iterate for continuous improvement. Because you need to both know and show that you're doing all that could reasonably be expected to secure employee's personal data which is in your care.
And yet, despite all your safeguards, the day will come when something goes wrong from an enterprise perspective. You absolutely can substantially reduce the probability, and the size of any exposure, but when over 90 million records were lost or stolen from thousands of organizations in just the last 18 months, sooner or later almost everyone's data will be compromised. When that happens, you need to shift on a dime into recovery mode, and be ready to roll into action fast.
But not just fast - your response must be comprehensive and effective, specifically including the following:
o Clear, proactive communication - first to employees, then to the public.
o The communication must say what happened, that a small, empowered task force has been marshaled, that temporary "lock down" procedures are in place to prevent further similar exposure, that investigation is under way, that affected employees will be given recovery assistance and reimbursement of recovery expenses, and monitoring services to prevent actual identity thefts using any compromised data.
o Of course, all those statements need to be true, so:
o A task force of HR, IT, Security, and Risk Management professionals and managers must be identified and trained, and procedures for a "call to action" defined - in advance.
o They must be empowered to implement temporary lock down procedures on employee personal data. Procedures for likely scenarios (laptop loss, backup tape loss, network login breach, theft of physical HR files, etc.) should be predefined.
o Template communications - to employees, partners, and press - should be drafted.
o Qualified investigative services should be selected in advance
o Expert identity theft recovery assistance resources and identity theft threat monitoring services should be evaluated and selected in advance.
Nothing is more important to protect your company than a well-planned and effective response within the first 48 hours of an incident. If you're not prepared and practiced well in advance, this will be impossible. If you are, it can actually be a positive public relations experience, and will drastically reduce legal, financial, and employee satisfaction impacts.
Identity theft is not a flash in the pan - it's built into the way the world now works, and this heightens not only the risk, but also the damage. Companies are at special risk, because by necessity, they expose their employee's data to other employees and to their providers and partners, and they bear responsibility for the risk that this creates. Those in HRIS, whose specific function is the management of "people data", must take ownership of this emerging liability, and ensure that their companies are as safe and as prepared as possible.
To learn more or arrange an in-person briefing, contact Peter Marshall at the Identity Theft Defense Center:
Address: 4521 Campus Drive, Ste. 300, Irvine, CA 92612
Web: http://www.idtheftdefensecenter.com
Email: pmarshall@idtheftdefensecenter.com
Office: (949) 485-5015
Toll Free: (866) 99-THEFT
Peter has been a leader in HRIT and “workforce effectiveness” for almost two decades. Prior to his current role as CEO of the ID Theft Defense Center, he was Director of consulting practices at KPMG Consulting and Siebel Systems, the co-founder and CTO of Cipient Networks, and a long-term strategic advisor to major HR outsourcers, enterprise application vendors, and other Fortune 500 firms. He also managed HRIS teams at Disney and FHP, and was Manager in KPMG’s Peoplesoft practice. Peter is an acknowledged expert on enterprise systems, identity theft, and workforce services, and brings this unique combination of expertise to this critical and timely topic.
The Identity Theft Defense Center provides in-depth corporate training and program development services, as well as a comprehensive and low-cost identity theft benefit program. For more information, visit our website at [http://www.myidcenter.com], call us at (866) 99-THEFT, or email us at sales@myidcenter.com
"Are you tired of being rejected for loans and credit cards?..." "Follow this step by step proven credit repair system and information on how restoring your credit report in record time!"
Recent identity theft statistics and exactly what identity theft is.
It has been said that identity theft is the largest white collar crime in the history of the United States. It's been reported by the Federal Trade Commission that, "1 in 6 Americans will be a victim of identity theft this year alone. In the last twelve months 9.93 million people have had some type of identity theft crime committed against them. Victims spend on average $1,200 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours in your efforts to resolve the many problems caused by identity thieves." Criminal identity theft occurs when an imposter gives another person's name and personal information such as a drivers' license, date of birth, or Social Security number (SSN) to obtain a job, housing, money, goods, or other services. Or the imposter may present to a counterfeit license or form of ID containing another person's data. There are 5 different types of identity theft and most people are unaware of all of them!
The five types of identity theft
1. DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES- Identity thieves could obtain a drivers license in your name and accumulate traffic tickets in your name, and could possibly get a DUI under your license and not show up in court.
2. SOCIAL SECURITY- an identity thief could use your social security number for employment purposes and you could get the tax bill. Many illegal aliens are buying many americans name and SSN. There are now 11 million illegal aliens in USA Today. Most of them are working under some one else's name and birth certificate. They could file taxes under your name and get the instant on line refund.
3. MEDICAL INFORMATION BUREAU- an identity thief could use your personal information to obtain prescriptions or medical help which reduce your available benefits. This area of ID THEFT is growing rapidly as more and more people are unable to afford health insurance. They could get an aids test in your name which would go into the MIB.
4. CRIMINAL IDENTITY- an identity thief could use your information to escape fines or jail. You could find that you have a criminal record for bad checks, shoplifting, pornography, prostitution etc.
5. FINANCIAL IDENTITY - an identity thief could use your information to obtain money, goods or services leaving you with the bill. They could lease a car hi your name and not return it. They could purchase vehicles, real estate, etc.
How to help avoid being a victim of fraud or identity theft
First, every household needs a shredder, you need to purchase one if you don't have it. "Dumpster diving", is a older method, but it's still the 1# way criminals get our information. The shredder will help eliminate the amount of information thieves can get from your garbage. Secondly, get updated anti-spy, or anti-theft software for your computer. Out dated software could compromise alot of what you hold dear. Also, never give out personal information over the phone. How can you tell that someone is who they say they are, if it is over the phone. Lastly, invest in some identity theft protection and restoration insurance. Many companies only offer to monitor your financial identity, and only alert you of activity on your credit report. Remember that monitoring is not the cure to identity theft, because you still have been a victim! Identity theft protection and restoration is the only answer to this problem! Simply put, monitoring will only alert you of the problem. In most cases the amount of the fraud is in excess of thousands of dollars. So without a lawyer most financial institutions are hesitant to just remove the charges. Which could take weeks, months, or even years to fight on your own! So if you have an identity theft problem, you now have a legal problem. Restoration is the only solution to identity theft!
3. What are ways the thieves get personal information?
1. Dumpster diving- Thieves will steal your information from paperwork that hasn't been properly disposed of. They may dig through your trash, company dumpsters, or even the city dump looking for personal information.
2. Phishing and Pretexting- These are similar methods of identity theft. Pretexting is where a person pretending to be with a legitimate company, like your insurance company, will call and try to get you to verify your account numbers or even your SSN. Phishing is basically the same except the thief will send you an email instead of calling you.
3. Shoulder surfing- This is where the thief will look over your shoulder when making transactions, at the ATM for example. They may even use devices like cell phones to record you without your knowledge.
4. Social Network Websites- While most adults are careful about the information they post on sites like MySpace, several teenagers and even some unknowing adults put them selves at risk of identity theft everyday. Identity thieves find names, addresses, and even birthdates on popular sites and use them to commit identity fraud.
5. File Sharing or Peer to Peer Software- The people accessing your music files also have access to other files on your computer.
6. Bogus Job Offers- Thieves will place fake employment ads and get you to fill out an application, including your social security number.
7. Fake sweepstakes or lotteries- These offers are usually sent by email and claim that you've won the Canadian lottery or some other sweepstakes that you've never actually entered.
8. Hacking- If you're computer isn't properly secured, a hacker can get access to all of the information you have stored. Hackers also get information by hacking the computer systems of organizations to get large quantities of information at once.
9. Stealing mail- This is similar to dumpster diving, except the thieves will actually steal your mail directly from your mailbox. They steal bank statements, pre-approved credit card offers, etc.
10. Lost or stolen personal items- It's pretty obvious how thieves steal your identity by stealing your wallet, PDA, or laptop. The same goes when you lose your personal items.
11. Working in your home- This may be one of the most invasive ways to get information. Contractors or other workers may find and use account numbers or other information you have out in plain view.
12. Changing your address- The thief will often forge your signature to have your mail forwarded to another address. They will then get information from your bank statements, or they may apply for your pre-approved credit card offers.
13. Copying information during transactions- Dishonest company employees will sometimes steal your credit card information while processing your transactions. They can do this when you're at the company or when you give your information over the phone.
14. Credit report- Thieves may pose as a potential employer or landlord to get a copy of your credit report. They can find out a lot of your information this way.
15. Reading RFID- RFID stands for radio frequency identification. RFID tags can be found on certain credit cards and other types of cards. Thieves build RFID readers that, if within proper range of you, can get the information off of your card. Whether it be by telephone, internet, wallet theft, dumpster diving, or a company you trusted mishandling your personal information, these thieves are getting more and more creative by the day!
4. Medical Identity Theft can be an individuals worst nightmare.
Imagine applying for the job of a lifetime, and you cannot get it because someone used your social security number. Getting an infectious disease treated in your name. Or worst yet, a diabetic steals your insurance information and uses it. If you were hospitalized and unable to speak...in this case the right or wrong medical information in your chart could be the difference between life and death. Medical identity theft currently accounts for just 3 percent of identity theft crimes, or 249,000 of the estimated 8.3 million people who had their identities lifted in 2005, according to the Federal Trade Commission. But as the push toward electronic medical records gains momentum, privacy experts worry those numbers may grow substantially. They're concerned that as doctors and hospitals switch from paper records to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), as they're called, it may become easier for people to gain unauthorized access to sensitive patient information on a large scale. In addition, Microsoft, Revolution Health, and, Google in 2008 have announced they're developing services that will allow consumers to store their health information online. Consumers may not even know their records have been compromised. This could be a nightmare, and with EMRs medical identity theft will happen more and more all over the country.
5. Is it possible for somebody to get information and use it for child identity theft?
Yes, if thieves get a social security number of a minor anything is possible. The birth date is just changed by the thieves. Thieves like to target children because their credit files are untouched and almost never checked. As parents, we don't even think to check it. Even before identity theft became so prominent in the 21st century, identity thieves were targeting children. Now that security breaches are so common and hackers can find personal information through phishing, your child's identity is even easier to steal than ever before.
These are all terrible things that can happen, but more importantly they can be avoided. All by using a identity theft protection and restoration plan. There is a company that provides all this protection and it also has family life event legal plans as well. It's over 30 years old, on the New York stock exchange, and it has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information look at the links below.
The faster and more cost-effective program to improve its rating of credit anywhere. A system of instruction from beginner to advanced level taught by a certified credit score expert.
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| Avoid Identity Theft During Tax Season Tire Review By Richard Lipton, CPA email Consumers and business owners should protect themselves against online identity theft and other scams that increase during and linger after the filing season. Such scams may appropriate the name, logo, ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Montgomery police officer indicted on identity theft charges WSFA MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - A Montgomery police officer is under arrest and charged with two counts of identity theft. Bradley Howard Pemberton, 41, a sergeant with the Montgomery Police Department, is facing federal wire fraud and identity theft charges ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Suspects Images Released in Dec. Identity Theft Purchases at Milford Walmart WBOC TV 16 Entertainment News from AP Milford, Del. - Milford police released surveillance photos Friday of three people suspected of using stolen identification to buy productrs at the Milford Walmart on Dec. 29. Milford police say the three suspects entered the ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Police search for homeless man wanted for identity theft York Daily Record District judge Alan Naylor issued an arrest warrant Friday for McVicker's arrest on charges of forgery, identity theft, theft of services and access device fraud. Police believe McVicker is homeless, and anyone with information is asked to call ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Identity theft ring stole from vehicles at funerals Orlando Sentinel By Paula McMahon, Sun Sentinel A Fort Lauderdale man who prosecutors said ran an identity theft ring that broke into people's cars while they attended funerals was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Friday. Oscar Diaz, 30, must also pay almost ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| 2681 Treasure Coast residents lodge identity theft complaints with the FTC ... TCPalm There were 1.4 million identity theft complaints nationwide filed by consumers with the Federal Trade Commission between January 2005 and March 2010. Of those, 105241 complaints originated from Florida, according to a Scripps Howard News Service ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Couple accused of ID theft in vehicle, jewelry purchases San Antonio Express By Guillermo Contreras A San Antonio couple have been charged with identity theft, bank fraud and conspiracy over allegations they bought several vehicles and jewelry using stolen Social Security numbers. David Edward Reyes was released on $10000 ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Shred-It and Crimestoppers team up against identity theft InsideHalton.com In an effort to help protect people from identity theft, Halton Crime Stoppers and Shred-It have teamed up to help people destroy sensitive documents safely. The two organizations will host four Community Shred-It events where people will be able to ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| How to Protect Yourself from Email Identity Theft Blogcritics.org (blog) How can you keep this from happening to you? Hackers steal your identity by intercepting your email password, go into your email account, steal your entire address book as well as your signature, and send a bogus email to your list. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Rye Brook Blotter: Prescription Fraud, Identity Theft, Mirror Stolen from Mercedes Patch.com By Satta Sarmah | Email the author | 5:00am In the recent weeks, Rye Brook police have dealt with several cases of identity theft, as well as a theft from a car and several cases of prescription fraud at a local pharmacy. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Identify Theft, Financial Scams Top Internet Crimes List InformationWeek By Elizabeth Montalbano , InformationWeek Failure to pay or deliver merchandise, scams in which someone impersonates the FBI, and identity theft were the top three Internet crime complaints last year, according to the FBI/National White Collar Crime ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Kids prime targets for identity theft Providence Eyewitness News (WPRI) - It's perhaps the most despicable form of identity theft; parents with bad credit hijacking their kids personal information to get loans or credit cards. State Police tell Eyewitness News these crimes are on the rise, and oftentimes the ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Former Elmore tax preparer guilty of ID theft, tax fraud Wetumpka Herald A former Elmore tax preparer was convicted by a federal jury Friday in Montgomery of aggravated identity theft and tax fraud. Sharon D. Thurman of Elmore was found guilty of 14 counts of making false claims, two counts of theft of government money and ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| 36 people indicted in Arizona retail-crime syndicate AZ Central.com They say an investigation uncovered elaborate gift cards scams, identity theft and retail theft from the "Angel Tree" Christmas holiday toy program for children. Retailers may have lost more than $1.2 million in the crimes. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Former Car Salesman Sentenced 2/25/11 KOSA Midland, Texas – A former Midland car salesman, convicted of identity theft, will now spend three years behind bars. According to the US Attorney's Office, 46-year-old Jose Rosa Ortiz will serve time in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| RCMP seek identity of suspects in Island bank fraud The Province Police are seeking the public's help with two suspects after a case of identity theft and bank-account fraud led to more than $10000 being stolen. North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP have released photos of the suspects but their identities are not known. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| 5 arrested in credit-card fraud, ID theft Santa Ynez Valley News Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies are emphasizing the need for people to safeguard their personal information after the arrest last week of five Los Angeles-area people on suspicion of identity theft and use of fraudulent credit cards in the ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Police: Woman posed as claims mediator WALA-TV FOX10 Rhonda Frazier faces ten felony charges including forgery and identity theft. Investigators say Frazier prepared the victim's paperwork for them to hand deliver to the claims department. Frazier allegedly assumed the identity of the potential victim of ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Patient Records Stolen from Emory The Emory Wheel By Alice Chen Posted: 02/24/2011 More than 70 patients at Emory Healthcare were victims of identity theft by unauthorized person(s) who took information including names, Social Security numbers and, for some patients, addresses, dates of birth and ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Thefts in Acadia Parish KATC Lafayette News -A resident on Hetzel Road near Crowley reported an incident involving identity theft. -Theft of a cell phone from a motor vehicle on Gayle Drive near Church Point. -Theft of money from a residence on Standard Mill Road near Rayne. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Review: 'Unknown' The Almanac Online Identity theft kicks it up a notch in "Unknown," a not-bad thriller starring Liam Neeson. If that sounds like faint praise, it is, but at least this overgrown "B"-movie tickles the brain just a tad, unlike Neeson's lunkheaded but blazingly popular ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Emergency services Mail Tribune Burglary, identity theft, mail theft — Keith Matthew Halaas, 29, of the 7800 block of Laura Lane, White City. Halaas appeared Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court on an indictment charging him with second-degree theft, second-degree burglary, ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| FBI: Facebook Is A 'Fraduster's Dream' fox4kc.com Identity theft and scams continue to be the biggest problems reported to the FBI's internet crime complaint center. Internet crimes in Missouri resulted in more than $5 million in losses last year, and in Kansas it was about $4.5 million in losses. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| 10 Types of Criminal Social Media Impersonators Blogger News Network (blog) by Identity Theft Speaker in All News Social media is the fifth form of mainstream media. At this point, most people know how to use social media, and how to navigate the various websites. But what most users don't yet realize is how social media can ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| PEOPLE v. JOHNSON Leagle.com It is clear that the forgery, burglary, and identity theft constituted an indivisible course of conduct, and that all of these offenses were incident to one objective—to obtain the bank funds of Dana Boyer. Defendant was sentenced to eight months in ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Police Report - Feb. 25, 2011 Glendale News Press 19 on suspicion of identity theft and possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Geronimo Bautista, 45, was arrested Feb. 20 on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine. Armen Kousayan, 30, was arrested Feb. 20 on suspicion of violating parole, ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Jury duty scam makes a comeback Minneapolis Star Tribune (blog) The real motive is identity theft, a so-called "phishing" scam, according to the FBI, which last warned about the scam in 2006 when it hit Minnesota and 10 other states. The thieves can even spoof your caller ID with a real court telephone number. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Pair busted with bag of credit cards Wetumpka Herald Coosada police caught a Montgomery couple with "a potato chip bag full of credit cards" during an investigation into mail and identity theft. Sgt. Morris Rogers said he'd received complaints of two suspects who were checking other people's mailboxes on ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| IRS alerts healthcare provider of stolen IDs Tax Law Home As a result, Emory officials are giving 2400 other patients 12- month identity theft protection to ensure they are not targeted by criminals in the future, The Atlanta Constitution-Journal reports. In addition, many had fraud alerts placed on their ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Advanced Protection Against Document Fraud - ICAP Ocean Tomo Announces Auction ... PR Newswire (press release) 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The threat of counterfeit documents and identity theft is increasing. Innovations in lasers and optical scanners have made it easy for counterfeiters to create fraudulent documents, including authentic-looking bank checks among ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Gloucester County to hold consumer protection open house NJ.com ... National Consumer Protection Week, Gloucester County will hold an open house at its Office of Consumer Protection next month to educate consumers on privacy, debt and money management, avoiding identity theft and avoiding frauds and scams. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
| Arrests: Slidell police Slidell Sentry News Shawn A. McCawley, 21, 2019 Jay St., Slidell, theft identity, theft, forgery, monetary instrument abuse, and bank fraud. Kevin D. Crowley, 28, 8338 Leeds St., New Orleans, reckless operation of a motor vehicle. Jason W. Lott, 35, 340 Driftwood Circle, ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| Lloyd Blankfein Wasn't The Only One Getting Down To 'Poker Face' This Week DealBreaker.Com By Bess Levin Steve C also enjoyed himself some Gaga at the Garden this week, until the idiots staffing the place nearly made him the victim of identity theft. "My buddy was at the Lady Gaga concert the other night; put his credit card down and they ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| 2 women arrested for ID theft in Littleton Denver Post The women who were observed in video from the recreation center, Wal-Mart and Burger King are being charged with thrid degree burglary, identity theft, forgery, first degree criminal trespass, theft and conspiracies. All charges are felonies. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||
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| NBC2 Investigators: Protecting social security numbers online NBC2 News Stacy Payne, a spokeswoman for the Lee County Sheriff, says the federal government was trying to protect people from identity theft, especially those people from states only assigned a handful of number combinations because of smaller populations. ... See all stories on this topic » |
